A suspected drug dealer shot dead three Jordanian security personnel when they arrived to arrest him in the east of Amman, the official news agency reported.
The three were members of a drugs squad on a “tactical operation” against the “dangerous narcotics suspect”. The suspect, who was not identified, “immediately initiated direct gunfire towards the officers”, the agency said.
It named the three as First Lieutenant Murad Al Mawajdeh, Sergeant Khaldon Al Raqab, and Corporal Sobhi Mohammed Dweikat. A fourth non-commissioned officer “sustained injuries and was evacuated to a nearby hospital, where he remains under medical supervision”.
The agency said the raiding team seized the suspect “after returning fire”, as well as three firearms, “a quantity of narcotic pills”, three packs of hashish, and “significant amounts of crystal meth and marijuana”.
East Amman, the less affluent part of the capital, has been the scene of increasing anti-narcotics raids in the last several years. Since 2018 Jordan has been a main conduit for amphetamine pills known as Captagon, which are mainly manufactured in Lebanon and Syria and go to Saudi Arabia, which is also a consuming market.
However, Jordanian officials say the flows have fallen since the overthrow of the former Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad in December 2024.
